BOV funds restoration of old ex voto painting

Bank of Valletta (BOV) has decided to finance the restoration of the painting The Assumption, an ex voto painting believed to date back to the mid-18th century and found at the Santa Maria parish church, known as Il-Knisja l-Qadima, in Birkirkara.

The restoration has been entrusted to conservator and restorer Charlotte Bellizzi.

She explained that the painting has suffered extensive damage in the past and, since undergoing an old intervention, the many cuts in the canvas are widening, damaging the paint layer.

The image has also been overpainted, which, together with an aged varnish, conceal the true aesthetic appreciation of the work of art. The church of St Mary was built in 1617 and was always considered a building worthy of admiration, although it remained closed for a long number of years. In 1950 the Collegiate Chapter of Birkirkara decided to restore the church and it was reopened for worship in 1973. On May 8, 2005, it was declared the parish church for the area situated between Valley Road and Mdina Road, in Birkirkara.